BREAKING: Political Witch-Hunt Escalates as ANC-Aligned Legal Practice Council Targets Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s Licence in Desperate Bid to Silence Ramaphosa’s Fiercest Critic

In a move that reeks of political retribution rather than justice, the Gauteng Legal Practice Council (LPC) has rushed to the Gauteng High Court to have Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane struck from the roll of advocates—just days after her foundation intensified pressure on the Phala Phala scandal engulfing President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The application, filed by Ignatius Briel of the Gauteng LPC, rests almost entirely on the controversial parliamentary impeachment of Mkhwebane as Public Protector. That process was driven by the ANC and DA alliance in a vote widely viewed as a political execution, not a dispassionate legal finding. No court of law has convicted her of any criminal offence. Yet the LPC now seeks to destroy her professional livelihood based on a partisan parliamentary outcome. This sets a dangerous precedent: if politicians can weaponise impeachment against independent voices, then the legal profession itself becomes subordinate to the ruling elite.

Suspicious Timing Points to Retaliation

The timing could not be more revealing. This application lands just as Ramaphosa appoints Judge Aubrey Ledwaba as Gauteng Judge President—despite Ledwaba facing serious accusations at the Madlanga Commission of accepting a R2.5 million bribe from alleged drug-dealing kingpin Katiso “KT” Molefe. Ledwaba allegedly facilitated Molefe’s controversial release on bail, shocking South Africans already fed up with two-tier justice. While Ledwaba denies the claims, the optics are appalling: a judge under a corruption cloud is elevated while a vocal Ramaphosa critic faces professional annihilation.

This latest assault follows hard on the heels of the Constitutional Court’s landmark ruling that Parliament acted unconstitutionally to shield Ramaphosa from a full Phala Phala impeachment inquiry. Speaker Thoko Didiza has now been forced to establish the committee—precisely what the Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane Foundation demanded. South Africans remember all too well how Ramaphosa suspended Mkhwebane just two days after she hit him with 31 probing questions on the Phala Phala farm scandal. The Western Cape High Court rightly declared that suspension unlawful, citing Ramaphosa’s blatant conflict of interest.

Mkhwebane Foundation Keeps Shining Light on Corruption

Far from being silenced, Mkhwebane’s foundation continues exposing uncomfortable truths. Weeks ago, it compelled a parliamentary ad hoc committee to record a protected disclosure by former Crime Intelligence analyst Philasande Dotyeni. That disclosure directly implicates Ramaphosa in the murder of a SAPS General who was investigating the Phala Phala matter. The foundation has also announced it will present explosive evidence at the Madlanga Commission detailing the biggest SAPS corruption cartel in history—allegedly involving the direct assistance of Ramaphosa in looting R768 million from police coffers.

These are not the actions of someone cowering. They are the actions of a principled advocate who refuses to bow to power.

Hypocrisy of the Establishment

The irony is thick. While Ramaphosa’s allies in the LPC pursue Mkhwebane over a political impeachment, the president himself dodges accountability for Phala Phala—the foreign currency heist, the alleged cover-up, and now renewed impeachment proceedings ordered by the highest court in the land. The same political class that lectures us about the rule of law is only too happy to bend institutions like the LPC into instruments of persecution when their own survival is at stake.

Advocate Mkhwebane has consistently challenged executive overreach, exposed state capture by the powerful, and stood for ordinary South Africans tired of elite impunity. Striking her from the roll would not be justice—it would be the triumph of political thuggery over professional independence.

South Africans must watch this case closely. If the courts allow this application to succeed on such flimsy, politically tainted grounds, it will send a chilling message: challenge the ANC elite at your peril. The fight for real accountability—and for voices brave enough to demand it—continues. Mkhwebane’s record of fearless service deserves defence, not destruction.